


With A Golden Heart Comes A Rebel Fist

by DefaltManifesto



Series: And We Run [1]
Category: inFAMOUS (Video Games), inFAMOUS: Second Son
Genre: Blow Jobs, F/M, First Kiss, M/M, Making Out, Nightmares, Polyamory, Post-Good Karma Ending, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Spoilers, Suicidal Thoughts, Vaginal Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-07
Updated: 2017-01-07
Packaged: 2018-09-15 14:26:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9238979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DefaltManifesto/pseuds/DefaltManifesto
Summary: Eugene picks up the pieces after Curdun Cay and Seattle.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I've been writing this for the last two weeks - I swear I haven't forgotten my other projects, I just really wanted to write this after I finally played this game for the first time ever (two years late yay). I hope the few of you who read it like it! Comments are loved. Tumblr is linked below. Title from Here's to Life by Streetlight Manifesto. 
> 
> Thanks to SublimeDiscordance and AwkwardHeart for letting me ramble and talk so much about this while I was writing it!

[The tumblr](http://schizzar.tumblr.com)

 

Delsin bursts into Eugene’s life with fire and smoke and nearly fries his computer set up in the process, the dick. Eugene sort of appreciates it but at the same time he’s not really into leaving his new home. Delsin plays it off like he’s just some sort of anti-social nerd and honestly, he prefers Delsin thinking that than knowing the truth about why he wants to stay underground. He’s not…scared. He’s tired. Eugene is pretty confident the ability to be afraid burned out of him a while ago by Augustine and her training methods.

That doesn’t mean he wasn’t telling Delsin the truth – he does want to save people from the hell Augustine would put them through given the chance. But he wants to do it from a distance, far from prying eyes and the potential of being captured again. If he had to go through it all again…he’s not sure he’d survive. Getting through it the first time had been hard enough. The first few days after escaping, he’d almost just offed himself to escape the nightmares. He can’t tell what’s worse – the reality of what he went through or the twisted fucked up dream version his brain likes to conjure up while he sleeps.

Abandoning Delsin seems wrong though. Delsin hasn’t been through what he and Fetch have, not even close, but Eugene has a feeling that if he had, Delsin would still find a way to thrive and grow from it. He has endurance and grit the way Eugene never had growing up. He gained it of course through Augustine’s training, but it isn’t innate in him the way it was for Delsin.

So when Delsin asks for his help, an edge of panic to his voice that he hasn’t heard before, he pulls himself out of hiding. Not that he actually thinks he can take on something that makes Delsin sound scared. His fear of dying is just outweighed by his fear of the guilt he’d have to live with if Delsin died because he was too chicken shit to use his powers, really use them, to take down the people who wanted to put all of them in cages. Just because he’s sure Delsin would survive Augustine’s “training” doesn’t mean he wants to be the reason Delsin gets caught in the first place.

He’s only ever turned into an angel once outside of the reality inside his computer. It’s the one thing he managed to keep hidden from Augustine, terrified of what she’d make him do if she’d known. Wrapping himself in the digital form – somehow simultaneously real and not – makes his brain go fuzzy, like the whole world is slower than it should be. His size more than doubles of course, so he wonders if maybe it’s something like with the dinosaurs, where he’d function better with two brains instead of one. Alongside Delsin, he helps take down the DUP. When he joins Delsin afterwards, he’s still not totally sold on this whole ‘being a hero’ thing.

“Well still, on behalf of people…thank you,” Delsin says.

The words are naïve but the look in Delsin’s eyes is anything but.

“Yeah well, the worst that can happen is if they let me down again…I rain hellfire down on their asses,” Eugene says. He shrugs and then steps off the rooftop.

Shifting into the angel doesn’t hurt this time. It helps that he knows Delsin is watching him fly away, thinking he’s a badass.

 

-.-

 

Eugene sees the destruction of Augustine’s concrete island through hacked news feeds in his small underground hideout. He sees Reggie fall into the water too and hears Delsin’s anguished cry. He shuts the feed off then, not willing to listen to his pain. He has a feeling that noise is going to start making an appearance in his nightmares.

Instead, he turns his attention to tracking Hank down. By the time Delsin’s voice comes over his computer speakers demanding help in hunting him down, Eugene’s already tracking him down through the streets by flowing himself through the DUP’s cameras. His gut feels tight though, because he knows that emotion in Delsin’s voice, the deep hurt and anger and desire for revenge. And honestly, he didn’t come this far just to let Delsin ruin it for himself. He hauls himself out of the camera feeds near the docks instead of retreating back into his underground hideout.

When he reaches the harbor, Delsin already has Hank on his knees, chain strung around his neck and a knee in his back to get the pressure to rob him of his breath. Eugene feels frozen, his heart in his throat and stealing his voice. He takes a step forward and then stops.

“Delsin,” he says.

Delsin turns and looks at him. The anger in his eyes sputters before flaming up again even harsher. “Go away, Eugene.”

"No,” Eugene says. “I get it. You’re upset. Killing Hank isn’t going to bring Reggie back or get rid of Augustine, or help your tribe.”

Delsin turns back to Hank but he isn’t using enough pressure to strangle him anymore. “No but he deserves to die.”

“Did Fetch and I deserve that too?” Eugene steps closer, forcing his legs to keep going even though they felt like jello. “If you kill him, then you might as well kill us too.”

It’s a lame false equivalency but Eugene’s pretty much prepared to say anything to get Delsin to back off. Delsin makes a frustrated noise and then releases Hank.

“Go, before I change my mind,” Delsin says as he steps back.

Hank flashes out of existence and reappears on a boat in the distance. Delsin deflates all at once, collapsing into his knees and letting out another anguished cry that makes Eugene’s chest tighten with some sort of feeling he’s not prepared to experience. Eugene sits down next to him and after a moment of hesitation, wraps an arm around Delsin’s shoulder to haul him close. Delsin slumps into his side and when he starts to cry, Eugene doesn’t say a word.

 

-.-

 

Eugene convinces Delsin to stay at his place for a few hours and nap, which is easier said than done with Augustine on every damn speaker in the city. It’s sort of the only option though. Going in the way he is now, he’s guaranteed to get them all killed. Delsin passes out as soon as his head hits the pillow, and while he tosses and turns every few minutes, he stays asleep even when Eugene’s phone chimes and lights up with Fetch’s number and face.

They hadn’t interacted much in Curdun Cay, but he remembers her enough to know she’s strong.

“Hey,” he says when he answers, voice hushed.

“How is he?” she asks.

“Resting, angry,” Eugene says.

"Hank?”

“Alive but gone. Delsin almost killed him,” Eugene says.

“He damn well should’ve. Guy is a god damn rat,” she spits out.

"Maybe, but Delsin would’ve hated himself if he had,” Eugene says.

"Yeah, I guess so,” she says. “Look, we can’t let him go after Augustine alone, and I know you’re not into the whole trying to save the world thing which I get, but-“

“I wasn’t going to let him go alone.”

“I-…oh.”

Eugene glowers even though she can’t see him. “Don’t sound so surprised. He means a lot to me too, even if I could care less about this city.”

“Huh. Okay. Give me a shout when you guys head out.”

“Right.”

He disconnects the call and pads across the room to sit down next to his single bed. He could curl up on the loveseat, but he wants to be close to Delsin, some sort of weird anxious feeling prompting him to sit down on the steel floor next to him, head propped against the mattress. When he falls asleep, his eyes close around an image of Delsin’s face.

 

-.-

 

After they defeat Augustine and expose her for what she really is, Eugene sleeps for two days. The fight against her was the longest he’d ever stayed in his angel form. He wakes up, fully expecting to be alone, but Delsin’s curled up on the loveseat and Fetch is likewise in his computer chair, bare toes peeking out from her jacket which she’s using as a blanket. Sitting up seems like a good idea, at least until he tries. The pain that rocks through him is so heavy and pounding that he ends up collapsing back on the bed with a weird squealing noise.

Delsin and Fetch are both awake in seconds and at his side.

“Easy there,” Fetch says.

“What are you guys doing here?” he asks, forcing the words past the heaving ache in his chest.

“We tried calling you but you didn’t answer so we checked here and you were passed out on the floor,” Delsin says, sitting down on the bed next to him as Fetch takes up residence near his feet. “Military is all over the city right now, so we figured it’d be better to stay and make sure you were protected in case any of them decided to get curious and come down here.”

“Oh…thanks.” He’s surprised. Delsin and Fetch are the first people he’d call friends, but he hadn’t really thought it was mutual. “Wait, what about your tribe?”

“Already taken care of,” Delsin says. “First thing I did. Had to sneak back in for you and Fetch though.”

"We’re heroes now,” Fetch says. “You’ve got your usual pundits and politicians screaming bloody murder, but pretty much everyone else thinks we’re the shit, even though they don’t know your name.”

Eugene’s stomach tightens, nausea rising up in him all at once. “Great.”

Delsin winces. “Yeah, Fetch, not really the greatest news for him.”

“Whoops, sorry,” she says, not sounding that way at all. “It’ll be fine though. Things will die down and people will forget all about us.”

“You mean like they forgot about Cole MacGrath and Lucy Kuo?” Eugene asks. “Fuck me, I never should’ve helped you.”

“You don’t mean that,” Delsin says, but his grin falters. “Right?”

Eugene punches at his leg, and the small action saps him of all his strength. “Of course I don’t.”

He falls asleep again before Fetch or Delsin can respond.

 

-.-

 

He wakes up screaming and drenched in sweat. That’s not new, but Delsin looks freaked out from where he sits on the loveseat. Eugene doesn’t look at him as he rolls out of bed, stumbling his way to the bathroom on weak legs so he can splash his face with water and gulp a few swallows using his hands as a cup. He sits down on the toilet with a groan after, face in his hands. He rarely remembers the dreams, only the feelings. He’s grateful for that though – the adrenaline alone is hard enough to deal with.

“Hey…” Delsin says. He’s standing by the door.

"Sorry about that,” Eugene says, voice shaky. He doesn’t look at Delsin. He can’t bring himself to.

"Nah man, it’s fine,” Delsin says. “You had a rough six years, yeah? It’s not surprising you wake up screaming or whatever.”

Eugene shakes his head, not sure what to say to make Delsin stop prying. “Look, I just want to sleep.”

“Right, right. You need help getting back to bed?”

“No I…” Eugene looks down at his legs. “Okay, yeah, maybe.”

Delsin pulls him to his feet, easily catching his weight when Eugene’s legs buckle a little. He clings to Delsin as he guides him back towards his bed and when he sits down on the edge, he can’t quite bring himself to let go of Delsin’s vest, knuckles white from how hard he’s grabbing him. It’s kind of embarrassing. He’s never had much comfort in his life, even before Curdun Cay. His mother had always been one to tell him to stop complaining, man up, grow up. His father had been like that too, though he spent most of his time away from the house so it hadn’t been as bad.

“Hey,” Delsin says. “Not that I really mind but if you want to sleep alone you’re gonna have to let go of me.”

“Right,” Eugene says. He concentrates but still can’t quite convince himself to let go.

Delsin sighs and covers Eugene’s hands with his, prying them off, but instead of shoving them away he holds them in his own and kneels on the bed next to him. He pushes Eugene down on his back and then stretches out beside him before releasing his hands and looping an arm over Eugene’s waist and tossing a long leg over Eugene’s.

“There,” he says into Eugene’s neck. “Now go to sleep.”

Eugene stays stock still at first. He’s never cuddled with anyone before and he’s not sure how to do it, if it’s acceptable to curl back into Delsin. After a moment, he gives in and turns into Delsin’s front, wiggling down so he can bury his face in Delsin’s chest. He smells like smoke, but not like cigarettes, more like a wood fire from camping and it seems to help calm his heart rate down the rest of the way.

“Is this okay?” he asks after a moment.

Delsin rubs a hand up and down his back. “Go to sleep.”

 

-.-

 

The next time he wakes up, Delsin is gone and Fetch is back.

“Hey sleepy head,” she says “Feeling any better?”

He pushes himself up and gets to his feet. He’s still sore but his legs don’t feel like they’re going to give out on him. “Yeah, a lot.”

“Cool, then let’s get this place locked down and go find Delsin,” she says.

“What?”

"He went home,” Fetch says. “But he wants us to join him, so let’s secure your place and head out, yeah?”

“Wait, why does he want us to come?” Eugene asks.

Fetch arches an eyebrow. “Why, do you have somewhere else you need to be?”

The answer is no, for both of them. They have no family, no friends, only each other. But Delsin…Delsin has his tribe, his family, people who care about him, so the thought that he actually _wants_ Eugene and Fetch to come join him doesn’t really make sense to him.

“I just don’t get why he wants us there,” Eugene says.

“Yeah? Me neither. But D’s a cool dude, and he lost his brother saving us,” she says. “So if he asks me to get you and hang out with him, I’m gonna do it.”

Eugene winces at the reminder. “Right. Fair enough.”

"What were you going to do instead?” Fetch asks, watching him walk around and throw clothes from his closet into a bag.

"I…don’t know.”

He figures it’s not really bros to tell someone his plan was to kill himself. He’s got no home to return to, no friends, and nightly torment and pain – what’s the point? Except now he has Delsin and Fetch, and he isn’t happy about being alive necessarily, but he isn’t all that thrilled about dying either.

“I don’t know what would’ve happened to me without Delsin,” Fetch continues. “I would’ve run out of luck eventually you know? Killing drug dealers is satisfying but it’s playing with fire between the gangs and the police, so if he hadn’t come along…who knows, maybe I’d be fish food with a cement brick on my leg.”

“Isn’t that more of a Chicago mob thing?” Eugene asks.

"Just gangster in general,” Fetch says.

Eugene makes a non-committal noise and turns back to her. “Okay. I’m good to go. I don’t want to but…”

"What are you so worried about?” Fetch asks.

“I…” He shrugs. “The other night I kind of made an embarrassment of myself.”

“Oh?” Fetch asks, leaning forward.

"Woke up from a nightmare,” Eugene says. “And then we uh…cuddled.”

“What’s embarrassing about that?” she asks with a frown.

Eugene bounces in place for a moment. “I’m kind of attracted to him I guess, plus it makes me look like, really stupid and immature.”

“Pretty sure neither of us think that way about you,” Fetch says. “You’ve gone through so much and Delsin knows that and I know that even better than him.” She smirks. “And as for being attracted to him…me too.”

"Yeah?” Eugene laughs. “Well you’ll have better luck than me on that one. He kept trying to hook me up with girls so I’m pretty sure he’s straight.”

"Well we can’t all have a fairytale ending, and let’s be honest, you knew it wasn’t going to be me or you who got that,” Fetch says. “But seriously? I doubt Delsin thinks less of you for having nightmares and cuddling with him, and I doubt he would even if he knew you had a big ol’ crush on him.”

“Thanks,” Eugene says, and he says it sarcastically but he _does_ mean it. “So. Time to go meet the Akomish, right?”

Fetch smiles.

 

-.-

 

They drive into town in a small car Fetch hotwires. The first thing they see is a giant billboard with a spray-painted image of Reggie and Delsin on it and it makes Eugene’s gut seize up with nerves again. The GPS on Eugene’s phone takes them to a small house in the woods that’s technically off reservation land according to the boundary lines on the map, but when they pull up it’s clear they’re in the right place; the front door is tagged with the eagle symbol Eugene saw on Delsin’s vest the day they fought Augustine.

“I hope he has Wi-Fi,” Eugene says.

Fetch punches his arm.

Eugene’s not sure what he’s expecting. Delsin throwing open the door and sweeping Fetch up in a hug before doing the same with him isn’t it though.

“I didn’t think you were going to come,” Delsin mumbles into the fabric of Eugene’s hood. “I’m glad you did.”

“Thanks for having me,” Eugene says. “So…”

“Right, yeah, come in,” Delsin says. “I’ve got a spare bedroom? And a couch. Or one of you can sleep in my bed with me.”

“How long are we staying?” Fetch asks as she walks around the small, barely furnished living room. The couch _does_ look comfy.       

"As long as you want,” Delsin says. “Thought the three of us could use a break.”

Fetch plops down on the couch. “You’re damn right. Dibs on the spare room by the way.”

“Couch for me then,” Eugene says. He ignores Fetch’s pointed look. “You got Wi-Fi?”

 

-.-

 

Fresh air is new and weird. Not new – he grew up in the suburbs so he knows fresh air, but in Curdun Cay, he never saw the sun and while Seattle wasn’t the worst when it came to air pollution it was still a far cry from fresh. Here, every breath he takes feels…big. Full. It’s an odd sensation, being able to take a deep breath of air and not feel car exhaust or taste the sterile poison of too much bleach trying to get rid of the blood stains out of the floor.

It doesn’t stop the nightmares though. He wakes up screaming most nights, then drags himself to Delsin’s TV and turns it on to a low murmur so he can absorb all he wants from the screens. Infomercials are soothing, put him right back to sleep again. Most mornings when he wakes up again, he’s curled up on the rug in front of the TV with a blanket over him. Fetch tells him it’s Delsin’s doing.

“I learned a long time ago to sleep through people screaming,” she says in way of explanation.

Neither of them mention that more often than not, it was Eugene causing the other Conduits to scream and beg for the pain to stop.

 

-.-

 

Fetch leaves after two weeks.

"I’ll just be in Seattle though,” she says as she hugs Eugene close. “Easy to find me if you need me, and I’ll keep an eye on your place, make sure no one trashes it.”

It means that Eugene spends a lot of time alone, because Delsin spends most of the day with Betty on the reservation. When Eugene asks if he wants company, Delsin shakes his head. At first, Eugene feels a little offended, unwanted even.

“I just never really connected with my tribe I guess,” Delsin says. “And I want to now, after everything they did to try and protect me. It seems childish to not take the time to learn more about my ancestry you know? And that’s something I need to do on my own.”

It makes sense, but it doesn’t really make Eugene feel better. If anything, it just makes him jealous. He wants what Delsin has.

 

-.-

 

“What do you dream about?”

Delsin asks the question one night when they’re sitting in front of the TV playing Mario Kart on a GameCube Eugene ordered off the internet with money he’d hacked out of some rich millionaire’s account. The question takes him by surprise and he ends up running into a banana peel from lost concentration.

“That’s a shitty strategy to try and win with,” Eugene says as Delsin rockets by him.

 “Oh, not a…I didn’t mean to…” Delsin trails off and then pauses the game. “Sorry I was just thinking about it and asked.”

Eugene takes his glasses off and rubs at his eyes a bit, trying to think of what to say or if he should blow Delsin off entirely. “Look…I hurt a lot of people, well, I was _made_ to hurt a lot of people and when I didn’t, they hurt me instead. That’s what I dream about, I think, I don’t really remember them all that clearly which I guess is a good thing because I’d rather not constantly relive and remember all that shit.”

"Can I help? Like…is there anything I can do?” Delsin asks. “You seemed to sleep okay that night we shared a bed…”

"That’s not a good idea,” Eugene says, staring stubbornly down at his lap as his cheeks start to heat.

“Why not?”

Jesus, he was like a god damn puppy – persistent and curious. “Because I’m attracted to you and even if it helps, it’s kind of like taking advantage of your kindness and you’re already letting me live here and that’s too much as it is.”

“Oh.”

When Eugene finally gets the courage to look at Delsin, there’s an unreadable expression on his face that doesn’t do his nerves any favors.

"So when I kept telling you I’d help you get laid-“

“Not really a compelling argument,” Eugene says with a weak smile.

Delsin nods. “Right, right. Well, still, if you think sharing a bed would help your nightmares, let me know. I don’t mind.”

“Did you not hear what I just said?” Eugene asks.

“No, I heard you,” Delsin says. “I just don’t really mind. I want to help you.”

Eugene reaches over and hits the start button on Delsin’s controller.

 

-.-

 

**_Congresswoman Diane Sims: Curdun Cay Must Be Closed_ **

_Congresswoman Sims announced a bill today to cut the funding for Curdun Cay. She’s also helping spearhead the investigation into the military faction that attempted to infiltrate and shut down the DUP._

_Video Clip: Diane Sims press conference_

_"While the DUP and Curdun Cay have ultimately proven to be failures, attempting to discredit and disrupt their legally granted power through espionage like this is unacceptable. A military response to the Conduit threat failed when Cole MacGrath ravaged the southern coast, only serving to further divide the country. At the time, the DUP seemed like a solid alternative, providing safety and security in a time when many felt as though the world was changing too fast to keep them safe. But now, we see that domestic policies built on fear, policies that lock away our citizens, only divides us further and makes the world more dangerous. I lost my son to this division, though I hope one day I will see him again. I know more than anyone what it feels like to lose someone you love to these policies. To get through these trying times as a country, we must figure out how to work_ with _Conduits.”_

_There are only a few politicians speaking out, in either agreement or opposition to Congresswoman Sims’ statement. Unlike the New Marais incident, the situation in Seattle is much more complex, and reports and video from citizens themselves make it difficult for any politician to try and spin this situation the way it was done so in the past._

_Delsin Rowe is still nowhere to be found. Visits to the Akomish reservation have ended in little information being gained as most of the tribe claims to have not seen him since he first returned to heal the tribe of the damage done to them by former director of the DUP, Brooke Augustine. If he were found, it is hard to say if he would be charged with any crime. The DUP’s leaked reports have shown that the only casualties were DUP officers in the single digits – the rest were restrained. Given that Seattle was a warzone, holding Rowe accountable for these crimes would be greatly unpopular in the public eye. Still, allowing him to go unpunished could result in increased violence._

_As it stands, the government response to Seattle is still too unorganized to make any real predictions about what the future holds. Congresswoman Sims’ is so far the only one leading the charge. Whether it stays that way remains to be seen._

 

“Diane Sims…any relation?”

Eugene jolts, slamming his laptop shut and whipping his head around to see Delsin leaning over the back of the couch. “Uh…my mom.”

"No shit?” Delsin hops over the couch and lands on the cushion next to him. “Glad she’s on our side.”

“She wasn’t always,” Eugene says. “She was one of the first people to push for the DUP, got re-elected running a campaign on fear-mongering about bio-terrorists.”

Delsin’s eyes widen. “Oh. Shit. So when-“

“When my powers manifested, she was the one to call the DUP on me, yeah,” Eugene says, voice hard. “It’s hard to know if she’s really changed her mind or if she’s trying to stay on top of public opinion.”

“You should go see her,” Delsin says.

“What? No.”

“Why not?” he asks. “It can’t hurt right? I know she turned you in and stuff, but-“

"She turned me in and my life was literal hell for six years,” Eugene says, anger rising quick and fast as he gets to his feet. “It’s her fault everything happened to me. She voted for the DUP, argued for it, capitalized off of it, off of me and people like me. If I see her again I’ll…”

“What, kill her?”

Eugene’s fists clench, pixels sparking around his hands and arms. “I don’t know. I don’t want to find out.”

“She could help though,” Delsin says. “And I don’t mean Conduits, or making our lives better and helping build a regime of peace. I can hope for that but given how you feel about her, I doubt that’s really all that likely, but seeing her again, talking to her…that could help you.”

“There’s nothing she could say that would help me,” Eugene says.            

"If you don’t want to see her, that’s fine,” Delsin says. “But…dude, you’ve got a lot to fucking work through and I don’t think avoiding your family is going to help, even if they are shitty people.”

“Just drop it.”

 

-.-

 

Delsin doesn’t talk about it anymore, but that doesn’t stop Eugene from thinking about it. He’s able to do that a bit more clearly now because Delsin was right about one thing – sleeping in the same bed as him helps the nightmares quite a bit. Eugene has a feeling it has something to do with the fact that Delsin’s presence while he’s asleep helps his brain calm down because he knows any threat would have to go through Delsin first.

While Delsin is gone during the day, Eugene reads up on his mother. There had been a huge scandal when he’d first been picked up by the DUP, articles speculating if she would go back on her stance now that her own family had been targeted. Her response wasn’t surprising.

 _"Safety and security is important. My son does not know his own strength. It is best for him to be kept somewhere that he isn’t a threat to himself or others_.”

Within a year, any mention of him had vanished, whether because his mother refused to speak about it or because the society’s collective long term memory was actually just short. Either way, it makes his blood boil that he was forgotten so quickly, cast aside as a casualty in a battle to achieve some misguided idea about safety. But he’s still not surprised. His mother hadn’t had much love for him, not really. She’d seen him as weak, not smart enough to stand in her shoes and not strong enough to stand in his father’s either.

Still, it would’ve been nice to see some sort of effort on her part.

           

-.-

 

Eugene wakes up that night, not for any particular reason, but the first thing he notices is a stifled hitch and wet sob from the other side of the bed. He shifts, rolling onto his side and then reaching out to touch the middle of Delsin’s back, trying to get his attention without startling him too much. Delsin goes stiff as soon as he touches him though.

“Hey,” Eugene says.

“Sorry, I’m fine,” Delsin says quickly, voice hushed. “Go back to bed.”

"What’s wrong?” Eugene asks, pressing himself up along Delsin’s back the way Delsin had done with him.

“Just…” Delsin relaxes back into him. “Reggie. I dreamt about Reggie.”

Eugene presses his forehead to the back of Delsin’s neck and holds him tighter.

 

-.-

 

“Let’s go see my mom,” Eugene says the next morning.

Delsin looks up from his breakfast. “Uh…okay.”

Eugene nods.

 

-.-

 

Delsin borrows a truck from his uncle and they decide to take an extended road trip to the East Coast.

“We could travel faster if we used our powers,” Eugene says.

“Yeah, but I like this more,” Delsin says. “I mean, we want to take your mom by surprise right? If we use our powers there’s a chance someone will see and she’ll have a heads up that we’re coming.”

“I don’t have a license so you’ll have to drive the whole time,” Eugene says as he tosses his bag in the back. His laptop stays with him in the front seat.

“That’s fine,” Delsin says with a beaming smile.

Eugene wonders how he keeps up a smile like that so easily.

 

-.-

 

Sleeping in the same bed as Delsin is…odd. He keeps waiting for it to get awkward, especially since Delsin knows that Eugene sort of has a giant crush on him and everything. It doesn’t though. Each night on the road, Delsin crawls into bed with him and presses up along Eugene’s back before looping an arm around his side as well. He still smells like smoke. More often then not, Eugene ends up turned into Delsin’s front, face tucked into Delsin’s neck to inhale more of the smell.

Eugene’s always the first to wake up and he spends most of the moments between that and when Delsin finally wakes staring at him. Maybe it’s a bit creepy. It’s hard to know, given that when he was going through puberty, he was also going through learning how to best break people down and build them back up with video projections of their worst fears, of the people they cared about dying by their own hands over and over. He’s sort of just accepted that he doesn’t have the best moral compass.

The morning they’re set to arrive in Delaware, Delsin catches him. He opens his eyes when Eugene isn’t expecting it, lips stretching into a slow grin when Eugene pops back up right as a flush starts to travel up his face. Delsin reaches out and pulls him back down so his head is resting on Delsin’s chest.

“Easy there, I don’t mind,” Delsin says. “I know I’ve got a pretty face, it’d be a crime not to let you get a good look.”   

Eugene snorts and pushes himself back upright. “Okay, and I’m done. I’m going to shower.”

Delsin laughs as Eugene flees to the bathroom. There’s something different about the way Delsin mocks him, like the joke isn’t Eugene, the joke is himself. He teases, but it doesn’t feel malicious. It makes Eugene feel like he belongs. It also makes it feel like he isn’t taking advantage of Delsin by being all needy and helpless, because he isn’t those things, he’s just…fucked up, and he doesn’t want that to mean Delsin tolerates stuff from him that he wouldn’t otherwise. But he never gets that impression from Delsin.

It’s one of the first times Eugene hasn’t felt guilty for taking some sort of comfort.

 

-.-

 

The closer they get to his old house, the more Eugene feels like he’s going to throw up. The last time he’d seen his mom, he’d been crying. He’d tried to hug her and she pushed him away and into the arms of a soldier who’d broken his arm when yanking his hands behind his back.

“Delsin…” he says when they turn down his street.

"What?” Delsin asks, pulling over a few houses down from Eugene’s old home. “You okay?”

“Just feel…” He looks down at his hands which are fading in and out of showers of pixels. “Unstable.”

"Like, turn into an angel unstable or…” Delsin turns the truck off and shoves the keys in his pocket. “Something else?”

"I…my mom scares me,” Eugene says in a rush. “She always has. So has my dad, but mostly her.”

“You’re stronger now,” Delsin says, reaching over and squeezing his shoulder. “You took on Augustine. You saved _hundreds_ of innocent people from the DUP who were wrongfully labeled, and you can stand up to her without crumbling. I know you can, okay?”

“I don’t want to fight her,” Eugene says. “Not like I fought you.”

“Your power, _my_ power, comes from mental strength Eugene, which you have whether you think so or not, okay?” Delsin says.

"What the fuck are you talking about?” Eugene asks, voice trembling. “I can’t even get through a night on my own, and every time I panic I have to sit in front of some screen and just absorb fucking…anything to calm back down. How is that mental strength?”

“Because you’re still _here_ , Eugene,” Delsin says. His hand tightens on Eugene’s shoulder. “Because anyone else would’ve fallen, but you didn’t.”

Eugene shakes his head. “I’m not, I’m-“

Delsin’s hand slides up to Eugene’s chin, turning his face towards him. “I’m going to kiss you right now, okay? Is that okay?”

"What?”

“Just answer,” Delsin says with an eye roll.

“Yes, yes it’s okay,” Eugene says. “Of course it is.”

Delsin’s lips press quick and harsh to his. It’s Eugene’s first kiss. “I believe in you, got it? You’ve got this.” The words are murmured against Eugene’s lips, the small vibration making him shiver.

“The kiss is nice but I’m not sure it helps entirely,” Eugene says with a nervous smile when Delsin pulls back.

“I didn’t expect it to,” Delsin says. “I’m a Conduit, not magical. You ready?”

Eugene swallows his nerves and nods. They hop out of the truck and head down the side walk together, passing neatly manicured lawn after neatly manicured lawn. It’s the type of well kept hell that makes his skin crawl.

“This place could do with a coat of paint,” Delsin says under his breath.

“Maybe after this you can give it one,” Eugene says, nudging Delsin’s side.

He stops at the edge of the driveway. It’s been six years since he stood here last. The memories rise quick and fast, and for a moment they threaten to pull him in and take him somewhere he doesn’t want to go. Then there’s music blasting into his ears and when he looks down, Delsin has shoved his shitty old mp3 player into his hand and looped his headphones over Eugene’s ears.

There’s no data to pull from it, not without breaking the poor piece of plastic and metal, but the music helps settle him back into his bones and physical form. When he pulls the headphones off, Delsin smiles.

“You got this, come on,” Delsin says.

Eugene nods and puts one foot in front of the other until he’s at the front door. Delsin rings the doorbell for him. His heart pounds out a heavy rhythm in his throat and he almost jumps when the lock clicks open and the door handle turns.   

His mom barely looks like she’s aged. There’s a bit of grey in her blonde hair now, but it makes her look dignified, not old. Her eyes, with crinkles at the corners, well up with tears when she sees him and it hits him all at once that he’s never actually seen his mom cry before. She pushes the glass door open and covers her mouth as her tears start to run faster. Eugene stares at her, feeling disconnected from it all. There’s no rush of affection, no desire to comfort her as she sobs out his name and yanks him into a hug.         

He wonders if maybe he’s turned out like the monster Augustine tried so hard to turn him into. If she hadn’t, he’d feel something, right?

“Let go, please,” he manages to say.

Diane jerks back, wiping at her tears with quick hands. “I’m sorry, I just…I didn’t know what happened to you and after Seattle, with all those reports of your powers being sighted, I’d hoped…”

“Can we go inside?” Delsin asks. “The neighbors are going to stare.”

“Right, right of course,” she says, ushering them inside.

The house still looks the way Eugene remembers it, but he feels disconnected from that too. His childhood feels distant, like it was someone else entirely.

 “Do you want food? I can get something,” Diane says.

“No, that’s fine,” Eugene says. “Where’s dad?”

They sit down at the dinner table, the chairs stiff backed with plump cushions.

“He’s at work,” Diane says. “Where do we begin? What…what do I even say?”

“I’m sorry maybe?” Eugene says. “For sending me away. For helping fund an organization that nearly killed me and killed thousands of people like me. That’d be a good place to start.” The words come easier than he thought they would. He doesn’t feel sympathy for the woman in front of him, just anger. What could her tears possibly mean after what she’d done?

“Eugene…” Her shoulders lump forward, face crumpling. “I did what I thought was right. If I had known what you were…”

“You’re the one that called the DUP on me,” Eugene says. “You didn’t have to. And honestly, this whole crying display isn’t fooling me.”

“What?” Diane straightens.

“I mean you shoved your thirteen-year-old son at a DUP officer and never tried to look for me, or find me. You let me go for six years without even trying,” Eugene says. “So this? This…crying? I know it’s not real. If you actually loved me or cared you would’ve stood by me, the way Delsin’s brother did with him, instead of pushing me off to be someone else’s problem. You didn’t have to call the DUP.”

“Eugene, you’re not being fair,” Diane says, her voice hardening. “I wasn’t equipped to deal with what happened.”

"Weren’t equipped?” Eugene’s voice cracks on the last word. “You’re a god damn Congresswoman! Dad’s a behavioral therapist! You had all the money and resources in the world to take care of me and help me but you chose not to, and now you’re using me to get sympathy for your new policies.”

“Policies that would help people like you,” she says.

“Why? Because you love me?” Eugene asks.

Diane hesitates, but it doesn’t hurt. “I’m happy you’re back here…I’ve missed you, Eugene, do we have to fight?”

Delsin scoffs, drawing attention to himself for the first time. “God, he was right. You’re not fooling anyone.”

“Excuse me?”

Delsin leans forward, hands doing half the talking as he leans on the table. “Your son went through hell because of you. And your gut reaction was to excuse your actions! Can’t you just say you’re sorry and that you love him?”

“Of course I love him,” Diane says. The anger in her voice is familiar, a tone Eugene knew all too well growing up. It was the tone that made politicians and lobbyists sit down and shut up and do whatever she asked them to. Delsin doesn’t even look fazed. “But I’m not sorry for what I did. It was what was best, and clearly he is stronger for it.”

“And that’s all you’ve ever cared about, right?” Eugene asks with a bitter laugh. “Doesn’t matter if it takes torture, just as long as I get stronger.”

“I can’t change what happened,” Diane says. “All we can do is move forward. Having you and Delsin join me in Washington, we could do so much for Conduits, do you understand that? Is that worth giving up for whatever resentment you hold for me?”

“Yeah, no offense lady, but I think you missed the whole point of what we did,” Delsin says. “Conduits don’t need more government interference. We just want to be left alone and working with the system isn’t going to do that for us. But who gives a fuck about that, when you seriously can’t say you’re sorry for what your son’s been through.”

Diane raises her chin. “I can’t. Eugene, I just can’t, not when I know it made you stronger.”

"Cool,” Eugene says, pushing himself back from the table and getting to his feet. “I was hoping you’d changed, and that you meant all that shit you said in that new clip, but apparently not. So. I’m going to go. Tell dad I hate him too.”

“Eugene-“

He walks out of the room and out the front door. Delsin appears next to him a cloud of smoke, yanking on Eugene’s arm and pulling him back and into a hug. Eugene’s fingers twist in the fabric of his jacket as he shoves his head into Delsin’s chest.

“I’m going to fucking scream,” he says.

“Maybe not in the middle of suburb hell yeah?” Delsin asks, rubbing his back. “C’mon. Let’s go to a hardware store and get some spray paint.”

Eugene laughs. Delsin doesn’t mention how wet and desperate it sounds.

 

-.-

 

That night, they successfully spray paint every house on the street with the DUP logo. It feels childish, but that’s what makes it fun. When they get back to their hotel, despite everything Diane had said, Eugene actually feels light and when he flops back on the king sized bed, he laughs. Delsin jumps onto the bed next to him, making him bounce a little bit as he does.

“Glad a little delinquency is all it takes to cheer you up,” Delsin says.

“It’s going to drive her crazier than seeing me will,” Eugene says, turning his head to look at Delsin. “She’s always cared more about appearances than me and I never lived up to the appearances she wanted. She probably thought it was a damn blessing that she could offload me and my issues onto someone else.”

“Your mom’s a ruthless bitch,” Delsin says. “Sorry for dragging you all the way here. You kind of knew how this would go and I didn’t listen.”

“I knew it would go poorly but you were right about this too,” Eugene says. “I do feel a bit better. There’s some closure I guess, confirmation that my mom is who I always thought she was.”

Delsin stares at him, lips quirked into a smile and a soft look in his eye that make the harsh edges in Eugene’s chest feel all soft and gooey. He leans forward then, pressing a quick kiss to Eugene’s forehead. Maybe it’s greedy, but Eugene feels like he deserves more than that, so in a move that takes just about all his remaining courage, he rolls on top of Delsin and presses their lips together.

He doesn’t really know what he’s doing. He’s never kissed anyone before, and he knows he’s supposed to move his mouth somehow but he doesn’t know how or what feels good. Delsin smiles against his lips though and pushes his hands into Eugene’s hair, pushing his hoodie back as he does so.

“Easy there,” he says, pulling Eugene back. “Slower, c’mon.”

Delsin kisses him this time, slow and gentle unlike the first time. That’s all it is at first, soft, short kisses over and over until Eugene lets the tension drain out of him, sprawling on top of Delsin. When Delsin’s tongue slips into his mouth, all the nerves have already left him. He’s not worried about doing something right because Delsin already knows all his fucked up and stupid parts. He’s got nothing left to be embarrassed of.

“Okay, off,” Delsin says. “If we keep going I’m going to get hard.”

Eugene flushes and glances down even though with the way they’re pressed together he can’t see past their chests. “Yeah, already there.”

"That’s what the shower is for,” Delsin says.

Eugene grins and rolls off of him to lay on his back, but as he thinks the grin dies. “You know the first time I masturbated was after I got to Seattle.”

Delsin props himself up on his elbow as he rolls onto his side to face Eugene. There’s an uncomfortable look on his face. “Really?”

“Yeah,” Eugene says. “I mean most the time I was restrained, and when I wasn’t, I was being monitored so there wasn’t every really a good time to jack off, you know?”

“It makes sense it just sucks,” Delsin says. He tilts his head to the side and then leans forward a little before pressing his free hand to Eugene’s crotch.

It takes everything in him not to come right that second. It’s like an electric shock right to his head from his dick. He’s torn between pulling away and pushing into the touch, overwhelmed by it but wanting it desperately all at the same time. Delsin doesn’t really do anything, just squeezes and rubs at his dick through his skinny jeans while watching his face with a careful eye.

“Good?” Delsin asks.

“Y-Yeah…”

Eugene let’s his eyes slide shut, biting his lip as he shoves his hips up. His heart races as Delsin keeps up the steady rhythm, and when Delsin shifts closer to press a kiss to the underside of his jaw, he can’t help but gasp out a garbled noise somewhat close to his name and come in his pants. Delsin slides his hand up to rub at Eugene’s stomach under his shirt. Every inch of his body feels like it’s tingling and when he opens his eyes and looks down, his arms are almost entirely pixels. He looks at Delsin who’s smiling at him.

“Hey,” Delsin says. “So…that was really hot. I’ve never seen someone go off that fast.”

“Shouldn’t that be a let down?” Eugene asks though a few rough breaths.

“Nah,” Delsin says. “Besides, I gotta catch you up on orgasms.”

Eugene laughs. “Yeah?”

“Dude, you don’t understand,” Delsin says. “I jacked off like ten times a day once I turned thirteen.”

“I had a lot of wet dreams,” Eugene says. “Does that count?”

“No,” Delsin says. “But don’t worry, I’ll get you caught up.”

 

-.-

 

Eugene wakes up screaming for the first time in a while. He barely makes it to the toilet in time to throw up what little dinner he ate before rolling over onto his back and pressing his head back against the cool tile floor. Every limb trembles as the remaining adrenaline drains out of him. It’s a common feeling, but he’d almost gotten used to not having it which makes it all the more frustrating to suddenly feel it again.

He drags himself back to his feet, avoiding Delsin’s gaze from where he stands in the bathroom doorway, arms folded across his chest. After soaking his face thoroughly in cold water and wiping it on a rough hotel towel, he shoves his way past Delsin.

“I still have nightmares about Reggie dying. You know that,” Delsin says as Eugene hops up on the table next to the TV and presses his hand to the screen. It flicks to life and Eugene finds the infomercial channel, letting it stream into him. “I just don’t scream like you. There’s no shame in having them though.”

"Not ashamed,” Eugene says, voice flat. “Just tired.”

Delsin walks up to him and presses a kiss to the top of his head. “Alright. Try not to rot your brain too much.”

Eugene falls back asleep propped up against the TV.

 

-.-

 

Their graffiti of his mom’s neighborhood makes it into the news. Thanks to their choice to use the DUP logo, most people think it’s someone aligned with the anti-Conduit groups. If she suspects it was Eugene and Delsin, Diane doesn’t say so in the small soundbite she gives the news stations and after looking into it, there’s no warrants out for them either. They pack up in Delsin’s uncle’s truck and head back for Salmon Bay.

 

-.-

 

“Oh God, I missed this,” Eugene groans, flopping into his computer chair and sinking his powers into his hub of computers and servers. The remaining anxiety melts out of him as he lets the data run through him.

“I guess my place is kind of the opposite of this huh?” Delsin asks from where he lounges in Eugene’s bed, flipping through one of the comics for Heaven’s Hellfire.

“Don’t get me wrong, I like yours. It’s different. Refreshing. But there’s nothing like gorging myself on some unfiltered data,” Eugene says. He spins around in his chair to look at Delsin. “How long are you going to stay?”

“Awhile,” Delsin says, tossing the comic onto one of the metal shelves. “Figured it’d be nice to actually get to know Seattle a little bit.”

"I mean, that’s all well and good but what about like…life,” Eugene says. “Do we get jobs now or something?”

“You might be able to,” Delsin says. “No one’s seen you since you were thirteen. Me?”

"Yeah, I can see how that’d be hard,” Eugene says. “You’re not going to be able to go anywhere without someone recognizing you though. So, what, you just…”

“I don’t know, man, I’ve never been big on the whole ‘life plan’ thing,” Delsin says.

“Me neither,” Eugene says, hands coming together in his lap. “After I got to Curdun Cay, my whole point was…” He stops, the memories hard to pick at and put words to when so much of him resisted re-living any of it even a little bit. “My whole point was to train other Conduits, but it was also to become strong enough that I could take down anyone or anything that would come to try and stop Augustine. She just never understood that the more she broke me down and put me back together, the more broken I became. She treated me like a diamond you know? Like if she put enough pressure on me I’d become better, but it just made me weaker.” He stops again, shaking his arms out to burn off the excess energy and nerves. “Sorry, that was a lot.”

“No, I’m glad you said something,” Delsin says, getting off the bed and coming over to stand in front of him. “I know you don’t like to talk about what you experienced there, but I’m willing to listen. I want to know more about you Eugene, okay?”

“Even if I’m…not a good person?” Eugene asks, leg jittering up and down.

“What makes you think you aren’t?”

Eugene shrugs. “Everything I did in there. What I was meant to be. The fact that part of me wants revenge still, wants to hurt my parents and the rest of the world.”

“I almost killed Hank,” Delsin says. “Almost sacrificed my tribe to escape Augustine. And sometimes I feel that dark part still, telling me to just take because I can. Doesn’t make me a bad person, and it doesn’t make you a bad person either. We’re not destined to be bad people just because we make crappy choices and people do things to us that make us hurt other people.”

“It’s different with you though,” Eugene says. “All I was ever supposed to be was a weapon, and now I’m not that. I never…wished, or dreamed, or thought about what I wanted because I just thought I’d never have the opportunity and now I do and it’s…too much.”

“Okay,” Delsin says, rocking back on his heels as he thinks before he moves over to sit on one of the desks to Eugene’s left. “So what…you were locked up for six years, never thought you’d get to decide what your future holds, have no idea what you want to do with your life, and you think you’re supposed to figure that out after a few months of freedom?”

“When you put it like that it sounds ridiculous,” Eugene says, a smile threatening to make its way onto his lips.

“That’s because it is,” Delsin says. “Start smaller. Tiny goals.”

"Like…what I want to do tomorrow?”

Delsin grins and moves back around to stand in front of Eugene. “Smaller.”

"Tonight?” Eugene’s face heats as Delsin straddles him in the chair.

“Smaller,” Delsin says, voice barely above a whisper as he ducks his head and starts to glide his nose along Eugene’s jaw.

“Right now,” Eugene breaths out, leaning back in the chair as blood rushes down to his dick. “What I want right now…”

“Yeah…” Delsin bites at his ear.

"Kiss me.”

Eugene forces the words out and he’s rewarded with Delsin’s lips pressing to his with his hands twisted in Eugene’s hair. The kiss is dirty, filthy, Delsin’s tongue fucking into his mouth as he rolls his hips down and it’s overwhelming like it was back in Delaware but in a different way, in a way that make him desperate for more. He shoves Delsin’s beanie off his head to get his fingers in Delsin’s hair too as he kisses back. He knows he doesn’t have any technique but Delsin doesn’t seem to mind.

Delsin pulls back a little and sucks at Eugene’s lower lip, drawing a low groan out of him. Eugene pushes into the kiss but Delsin just shoves him back…which ends up in them toppling over backwards. Delsin manages to smoke back so he doesn’t totally crush him. Eugene curses and untangles himself from the chair and gets to his feet, stumbling back into Delsin and pressing their lips together again. The embarrassment doesn’t even register on his mind for longer than a second. He just wants to forget the mess of emotions and confusion in his head for just a little while.

“Wait,” Delsin says, putting a hand on Eugene’s chest and pushing him back an inch. “I want to blow you.”

“What, really?”

Delsin rolls his eyes. “Yes, really.”

The thought of Delsin of all people on his knees, taking his cock, sort of makes Eugene’s brain skip a bit.

“Yeah, okay.”

Eugene ends up sitting on the edge of the bed, still clothed, while Delsin kneels in front of him and unzips the front of his pants to pull his dick out. The skin on skin touch make Eugene’s whole body feel weak. It also makes him grateful he’s not standing up. When Delsin finally gets his mouth on him, taking in half his dick in one go, Eugene lets out a noise closer to a whimper than a moan and buries his hands in Delsin’s hair.

On the second pass, Delsin takes Eugene’s cock all the way in, tongue poking out to tease at the sensitive skin near the top of his balls. The warm, wet heat makes Eugene struggle to remember to breathe. He’s been overwhelmed by pain before but never pleasure, never something so good it makes his heart push up against his ribs and rob him of his voice. It’s impossible to think. Eugene could definitely get used to that feeling even more than the physical feeling.

Delsin pulls off, his lips twisting into a smirk when he looks up at Eugene. It’s a good time to try and catch his breath. Eugene lets the fingers of one hand slide down from where they were grabbing at Delsin’s hair, trailing over his lips instead. Without breaking eye contact, Delsin flicks his tongue over the tips of Eugene’s fingers. Eugene had no idea his fingers could be so sensitive, not like this. Delsin pulls back and kisses the tips of his fingers before moving back to the head of Eugene’s cock, lapping at the tip until Eugene’s hands drop to his side to twist in the fabric of his sheets.

“You’ve got to be the most responsive person I’ve ever blown,” Delsin says with another wry twist on his lips. “Really helping my ego out.”

“Shut up and put your mouth back on my dick,” Eugene says, hands tugging at Delsin’s hair again.

Delsin seems to be into Eugene’s newfound boldness, a low noise escaping him when Eugene yanks in his hair again. Eugene struggles to think past how good Delsin’s mouth feels. He steadies himself and then thrusts up into Delsin’s mouth, the action prompting a moan that vibrates around Eugene’s cock. Eugene tumbles over the edge a second later. It’s kind of shame because the thought of taking control seemed to be working out well for both of them.

Eugene’s hands go slack so Delsin can pull back, wiping at his mouth.

“Holy shit,” Eugene says, breathless.

Delsin looks a little out of it too, so Eugene tucks his dick back in his pants and then grabs his arm to haul him up into the bed. His brain seems to come back online then as he sprawls on top of Eugene. He presses their lips together in a sloppy kiss as he rolls his hips down to grind his dick against Eugene through his own pants. It almost hurts, his own cock still sensitive from before.

“I could…” Eugene stops bothering to talk and just kisses Delsin back instead while shoving his hand between them to get it over Delsin’s cock.

He definitely doesn’t know what to do, so instead he copies what Delsin did before, squeezing and rubbing and letting Delsin fuck up against his hand. When he comes, Delsin goes rigid over him, gasping wetly against Eugene’s lips before going limp and burying his face in Eugene’s neck as he pants and tries to get his breath back.

“I guess we’re even now,” Eugene says. “You made me come in my pants, I made you come in yours.”

Delsin holds a hand up. “High five.”

Eugene snorts out a laugh and obliges.

 

-.-

 

Fetch shows up an hour later and the first thing she does is wrinkle her nose and say-

“Ew, it smells like sex, gross.”

Eugene flushes as she flops onto the bed next to him and curls up into his side, jostling his laptop which he’d been balancing precariously on his knees. “That’s because there was sex.”

Fetch glances around the small tucked away space. “Is he-“

“Delsin’s out getting lunch,” he says.

Fetch grabs his laptop and shuts it before shoving it under his bed and then moving to sit at the end of the bed, legs folded underneath her. “So you two are bumping uglies now, huh?”

“What?”

“Doing the dirty,” she says, then pokes her tongue into the side of her cheek rhythmically. “Lucky you.”

“Yeah,” Eugene says, smiling through the embarrassment. “He’s…pretty great.”

“He told me you guys were going to Delaware to talk to your mom,” Fetch says, looking down as she starts picking at the peeling nail polish on her nails. “How’d that go?”

"Not so great,” he says, smile dying. “She…she’s just as manipulative and fucked up as she always was.”

“Didn’t realize you came from a rich, hoity-toity family though,” Fetch says. “Did you at least steal her fine china before leaving?”

“Nah, but we did spray paint the houses on the whole street,” Eugene says.

She hums and then returns to his side, looping her arm through his. Eugene leans into her, closing his eyes as he rests his cheek on top of her head.

“Can I ask you something?” Eugene asks after a moment. It’s easy to get up the courage to do so when they’re close like this, an intimacy he’s never known but is learning to assume is a good thing.

"Ask away, I’m an open book,” Fetch says.

“When we first got here, to Seattle…did you know what you wanted to do?” he asks.

Fetch pulls away, drawing her knees up to her chest and leaning against them, eyes focused on the blank computer monitors across the room. “All I knew was I wanted to kill the people ruining the lives of drug addicts who needed help, not another hit. Beyond that…honestly I figured it was just a matter of time before a bullet finally took me down. I was almost kind of wishing for it.”

It’s oddly comforting, knowing that she had been in the same boat as him. Of course it sucked that she was as fucked up as he was, and mostly because of his actions too even if Augustine was the one making him do it, but misery loves company.

"But after Delsin…guess I upgraded. Now I want to take down every god damn gang, which is probably a little too ambitious even for a Conduit, but who knows? Maybe the government will start hiring us to take those fuckers down,” she says with a shrug. She pauses and then narrows her eyes as she looks at him. “Why you asking?”

Eugene gives a shrug of his own that isn’t nearly as nonchalant as Fetch’s. “Because I don’t know what I’m supposed to be doing with my life now that I don’t have Augustine in it to guide me.” He gives her a bitter grin. “How’s that for fucked up?”

Fetch sighs and flops back on the bed. “For all her general evilness or whatever, she did provide structure. I miss that a little bit.”

“Delsin would freak out if he heard us talking nice about her,” Eugene says.

"Delsin’s an understanding guy but he hasn’t been through what we have,” Fetch says. Her hand wraps around Eugene’s ankle and squeezes. He’s got a lot more meat on his bones these days, but her hand can still almost wrap all the way around it. “Sometimes you gotta learn to love your tormentor a little to survive.”

She doesn’t let go of his ankle as they settle into silence, lost in their own heads. His skin feels like it’s buzzing where they touch. He lets his eyes roam over her face, the hard look in her eyes that makes him feel like he’s looking in a mirror, and the soft curve of her lips. He has a strange urge all the sudden to kiss her. That should be wrong.

“Kinda want to kiss you right now,” Eugene says.

“So boys tell me on a regular basis,” Fetch says, thumb rubbing along his ankle bone. “Shared misery makes people feel closer than they really are.”

"You’re saying it’s not real?”

“Oh what you feel is real,” Fetch says, turning her head to look at him. “But that doesn’t mean it matters enough to justify jeopardizing a real relationship. I’m not that great.”

Eugene jams his toes into her side and she makes a noise close to a squeal before hitting his leg. “Don’t say that about yourself,” he says. “Or I’ll do it again.”

“Point made, Teen Angel,” she says with a roll of her eyes. “But seriously, you got a good thing with Delsin, and kissing me isn’t all that life changing.”

“I’ll ask him if I can then,” Eugene says.

Fetch laughs. “What makes you think I want to kiss you in the first place?”

“I’m just feeling brave,” Eugene says.

“Well you’re right, I do want to kiss you, I’m just teasing. I like you and D a lot,” she says. “But you’re also my only friends. Not gonna ruin that with something as dumb as romance you know?” She smiles. “But thanks for the offer.”

Eugene smiles back and wonders when he got so greedy for affection.

 

-.-

 

Eugene meets Betty when Delsin invites him and Fetch for dinner. He understands immediately why Delsin chased Augustine all the way to Seattle to help save her. She’s warm and inviting in a way his mother never had been and she doesn’t seem angry or bitter that Reggie died because of them either.

“That’s because she doesn’t blame you and neither do I,” Delsin says later on as they walk back to Delsin’s place. “I’m glad she likes you though.”

“She always know you were gay?” Eugene asks, shoving his hands in his jacket pockets.

“Bi, but yeah,” Delsin says. “She found out before my brother actually, and like with the whole Conduit thing she was way more accepting at first. It’s just who she is. Though she didn’t really like my friends a whole lot growing up.

“She capable of that? Not liking people and all.”

“Most of my friends back then were stoners who were also slackers who were going pretty much nowhere in life.”

“So like me and Fetch, except high,” Eugene says.  

Delsin laughs. “Kind of, I guess.”

He reaches out and tugs Eugene’s hand out of his pocket so he can lace their fingers together. Eugene’s heart rate ticks up until he remembers his conversation with Fetch before they met Delsin for dinner.

“I have to tell you something,” Eugene says.

“Yeah?”

Eugene squeezes his hand. “Fetch and I were talking and I sorta…told her I wanted to kiss her. And I do.”

“Oh…okay. Did you?” Delsin asks, keeping his gaze forward.  

“No. But…I don’t know. We get each other in a way you don’t get us, not that that’s your fault or anything,” Eugene says quickly. “And you mean a lot to me so I wanted to be honest because if I didn’t say something, I’d feel like I was lying.”

“I’m glad you did,” Delsin says. “Can’t believe you didn’t kiss her though.”

Eugene laughs, the tension in his chest dissipating. “What?”

“She actually wanted to kiss you?” Delsin shakes his head. “Thought she was going to kiss me once. Then she punched me in the stomach.”

“Guess your game isn’t as good as you thought,” Eugene says, elbowing Delsin in the side.

“Ouch, you wound me,” Delsin says, clutching at his heart with his free hand. “But in all seriousness, you wanna pursue something her then go for it. I’m not gonna put a limit on who you want to love. Just don’t put one on me either.”

“Deal,” Eugene says.

Delsin tugs on his hand, pulling him as they’re face to face. “Seal it with a kiss?”

"You’re ridiculous,” Eugene says.

But he curls his fists in Delsin’s jacket and gives him what he wants.

 

-.-

 

The first time Eugene kisses Fetch, it’s on a mattress on the floor of her new apartment. Her lips are chapped, but they make his tingle with her power. She kisses differently than Delsin. There’s a dominant edge to it like his, but it’s more of a give and take. He doesn’t get hard though, which is odd because with Delsin he’s always such a hair trigger. But he likes kissing her, likes the way she feels on top of him. Still, it feels like he’s stringing her along.

“Wait,” he says, pushing her back.

She rolls off of him and onto her back with a heavy sigh. “You’re not into it.”

"No, I am,” he says. “My dick just isn’t.”

Fetch laughs and turns onto her side instead so she can look at him. “Just my luck.”

“I _like_ kissing you. A lot. It feels nice,” Eugene says.

“It’s calming,” she agrees. “It’s like kissing someone but without all the pressure of being sexually attracted which is…weird, but not bad.”

“So…more kissing?” Eugene asks.

“Obviously.”

 

-.-

 

"Your dick didn’t get hard?” Delsin asks around a mouth full of pizza. “How? It’s Fetch!”

Eugene does a lazy circle in his computer chair as he chews his food and thinks. “I don’t know honestly. Can you be romantically attracted to someone but not sexually? Because that’s what it feels like.”

“You’re the one with the data, video manipulation powers,” Delsin says, dusting crumbs off Eugene’s sheets. “You tell me.”

“Oh. Right.”

Eugene stops spinning in his chair and shoves the rest of the crust in his mouth before letting his free hand dissolve into pixels and shove it into one of the monitors. Surfing through data with his mind isn’t as easy as Delsin makes it sound. The Internet is vast enough, and only a fraction of the size of what lies beneath it, and his powers don’t let him pick and choose what he has access to. When he taps in, he taps into it all. Of course, he could just Google it too, but there’s something pleasurable about being surrounded by so much data and information.

He pulls his hand back out and slumps down in the chair. “So it’s definitely possible to be romantically attracted to some genders and sexually attracted to others.”

“That’s all you got?” Delsin asks.

"My brain is still human. Can’t really process things at the speed of a computer, as cool as that would be,” Eugene says.

“So what about me?” Delsin asks. “I mean, clearly you’re into me sexually but what about the romance thing?”

It’s the first time Eugene’s really seen Delsin unsure of something outside a battle. It hits him then that Delsin really _does_ like Eugene. Likes him the way Eugene does, so much so that he’s worried about what he’d do if Eugene didn’t feel the same.

“I mean, I’m not going to say I love you because honestly I don’t know what that is,” Eugene says. “But I know I want to keep dating you and that I definitely care about you.”

The smile he gets from Delsin is possibly the most genuine thing Eugene has ever seen.

 

-.-

 

Eugene picks up a job at the local GameStop, more to have something to do during the daylight hours than anything else. Theoretically he could hack all of the money in the world into his own bank account (under a fake name of course), but there’s something satisfying about working, even if it is dealing with a bunch of little shits who’s biggest problems are what color iPhone their parents got for them. Besides, Delsin still spends a lot of time on the reservation trying to learn Akomish from his Grandmother.

“You know what I don’t get?” his coworker Anthony asks as he locks up the shop.

“Hm?”

Anthony turns and points at the building across the way, some office building that’s half covered in Augustine’s concrete. “How the fuck are they going to deal with that shit?” He shakes his head as they start walking towards their bus stop. “I mean, seriously. Do Conduits even think about the damage they’re doing to the rest of us?”

“I doubt Augustine cared about much other than taking down the escaped ones,” Eugene says.

“I mean that neon one went around and left dead bodies everywhere too,” Anthony said, wrinkling his nose up. “I don’t know man. I don’t think Conduits need to be locked up in that Curdun Cay place either, but seriously? Conduits haven’t done anything good for me other than make my commute to work longer.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Eugene says. His heart rate ticks up.

“So what did you do during that shit show?” Anthony asks. “I mean, you’ve worked here for a few days now but you haven’t talked about the one thing everyone else is talking about.”

“I don’t know man, just don’t really want to talk about it,” Eugene says. “Look, I’m meeting my boyfriend for dinner actually. We can ride together another time, yeah?”

He darts down a side alley before Anthony can question it.

 

-.-

 

Fetch spins her finger and then finishes her design off with a quick tap. Eugene’s skin feels hot and cold all at once where she’d been sketching a mess of swirls and shapes all up and down his bare arm while he played through the newest Pokémon. He glances over at the glow of neon that patterns his arm. Fetch frowns down at him and wipes her hand over it, absorbing the neon as she does so. They’ve been spending a lot of nights like this in her apartment. She’s slowly begun to furnish the place, mostly with stuff she steals from the drug hideouts she ransacks, but they usually end up curled on the mattress on the floor together.

She started drawing with neon on him one night when it was too hot to bother with a t-shirt when she didn’t have any air conditioning. He’d laid down on his stomach while she straddled his thighs, also topless, and did a crude sketch of Seattle’s skyline. It’s reckless and a little bit of dangerous. She could easily hurt him but there’s something soothing about it for both of them, trusting each other not to do anything to make her mess up and slice his skin open.

“So how was work today?” Fetch asks.

“Shitty.” He shuts his 3DS and shifts onto his back, tugging at Fetch so she’s laying sprawled out on top of him. “I’m thinking maybe the wrong choice trying to work.”

“It’s only been a few days,” Fetch says. She noses the side of his neck as she settles in. “What happened?”

"Just, you know, how long until they all find out who I am?” Eugene lets his hand creep up the back of her shirt to settle on her warm skin, rubbing absent-mindedly at a knob in her spine with his thumb as he thinks.

“No one’s seen you since you were what? Eleven? Twelve?”

“Thirteen,” Eugene says. “But with my mom being who she is, with DUP records getting investigated and torn apart, it’s just a matter of time before something leaks. I just don’t know if it’s worth entering the real world when it’s just a matter of time before the real world tosses me back out.”

Fetch digs her elbows into Eugene’s chest as she props herself up on him. “That’s why I never bothered with trying that. But…out of all of us, you have the best shot at flying under the radar. If you’re so worried about the records getting leaked, hack in and change them. Make yourself legally dead, or just straight up erase yourself.”

Eugene grins. “Huh. You’re pretty smart.”

“I’m not just a pretty face.”

Fetch presses their lips together. Eugene decides to leave thought for later.

 

-.-

 

“How’s the girlfriend?” Delsin asks, stepping up behind Eugene’s chair and hooking his chin over Eugene’s shoulder.

“Good,” Eugene says.

He’s not really paying attention though, most of his focus on guiding his conscious as best he can through the DUP’s servers. Unlike the rest of the Internet, he’s familiar with these servers. Getting to them is tricky but once he’s in, it’s like going home.

“So why’s your hand shoved through your monitor?”

“Shh, wait.”

Eugene zones out as he works, all his concentration going into his work. It’s a rookie mistake to leave servers online when so many people want to get into them after what happened in Seattle, but then, no one ever accused the government of being smart when it came to dealing with Conduits. Of course, he’ll have to dig and get access to government files as well and erase his identity there too, but that’s a project for another time. With his mother in such high profile, his identity won’t ever be completely erased, but without any new information coming to light, his name will fade into obscurity like it had before. At least, that’s what he hopes. He sweeps through the files one last time before pulling himself out, slumping in his chair.

His shirt sticks to him, skin slick with sweat. It’s not the most challenging thing he’s done, but it’s enough to make his head pound and his limbs feel shaky. Delsin isn’t behind him anymore and when he glances behind him, he sees that he’s instead curled up on Eugene’s bed fast asleep. He forgets sometimes, how time moves so much faster inside a machine. He gets to his feet and stumbles his way over to the bed so he can collapse next to Delsin.

Delsin groans and flails his arm out, tugging Eugene close. “What were you even doing?”

“Erasing myself from the DUP databases,” Eugene says. “Next I’ll have to try and get into the government ones, erase myself there too. I was just thinking, with my mom being who she is and with the investigation and everything, it’s only a matter of time before things get leaked and people start recognizing me and I want to just…have a normal life I guess.”

Delsin hums and presses his lips to Eugene’s in a slow kiss. “Makes sense. What if your mom talks though?”

Eugene stares at the ceiling, a cold feeling settling deep in his gut. “She won’t. There’s too much at stake if she brings me up, too many things that could go wrong and jeopardize her career. She’ll probably be grateful when she finds out there aren’t any records on me.”

“Paper files?”

Eugene shakes his head. “The DUP never did anything paper. Probably figured it was safer.”

“You’re one of the first people they picked up,” Delsin says. “Dumbasses.”

"No matter what I erase, I’m pretty sure people would still recognize you and Fetch though,” Eugene says. “Sorry.”

Delsin pulls away so he can stretch, back arching as he does so. Eugene’s eyes stray to the strip of skin that’s exposed near his hips when he does so and when his gaze flicks back up to Delsin’s, he’s giving him his usual cocky grin.

“For now, my tribe will protect me from any prying eyes so I’m not too concerned,” Delsin says. “And if the government comes for me-“

"They have to go through me and Fetch,” Eugene says firmly.

“That and I’d totally kick their asses,” Delsin says. “Though I appreciate the back up.”

Eugene shifts to straddle Delsin’s hips. “Enough serious talk. I’m already hot and sweaty so…”

Delsin lets out a low growl and wraps an arm around Eugene’s lower back before upending them so Eugene’s beneath him as he presses their lips together in a rough kiss. Eugene wonders if they’ll ever be at a point where it _doesn’t_ just takes a kiss for them to both be straining in their jeans. He hopes not. He wants it to always be this easy with Delsin, easy to sink into his body and feel pleasure. He wants to get used to pleasure the way he got used to the pain.   

“Okay, I am not coming in my pants again,” Delsin says, shoving at him.

Delsin rolls off long enough for them to both tug their pants and shirts off and Eugene makes a mental note that Delsin still has a habit of not wearing underwear before crawling between his legs and pressing his lips to Delsin’s neck. Delsin sighs and pets at the base of Eugene’s head, fingers tugging at his hair a little. Eugene bites down just above Delsin’s nipple in response as he works his way down. He hasn’t sucked Delsin’s dick yet. He’s been too nervous to try, but the exhaustion from before has already burned off to give way to excitement that he’d gotten rid of the records of the horrible shit he’d done. It makes him giddy, confident.

When he takes the tip of Delsin’s dick in his mouth, he’s rewarded with a deep moan and Delsin’s hands falling to his sides to twist in his bedsheets. Eugene looks up to see his head thrown back, Adam’s Apple bobbing as he swallows and sucks in a tight breath as he tries to hold himself still instead of shoving up into Eugene’s mouth. Seeing him try so hard to restrain himself just makes Eugene want to work harder. He’s realistic though, and sticks to what he knows he can manage.

Delsin’s cock isn’t huge, but it’s big enough to make Eugene’s mouth feel full with only a couple inches in. He slides back up, tongue flicking over the tip to gather the pre-come there. The taste is odd, like nothing else he’s ever tasted. It’s not bad or anything though, so he does it again and gets another gasp for his efforts. He lets one hand slide down to cup Delsin’s balls the way Delsin had done with him, squeezing them with the rhythm of his short passes over what he can manage to get in his mouth. When his gaze flicks back up, Delsin’s looking down at him. He’s propped himself up on his elbows so he can watch, and the heated, desperate look in his eyes as he watches Eugene makes him shiver.

Eugene closes his eyes and goes a little deeper on the next pass, gagging a bit when Delsin’s cock brushes the back of his throat. He likes the feeling though, the brief bit of desperation he feels when his air gets cut off and there’s a deeper part of him that wonders if he’s just fucked up and gets off at being uncomfortable. He shoves that aside though and focuses on Delsin instead. The next time he goes down, he chokes again but the tightening of his throat around Delsin’s cock makes Delsin groan, fingers twisting in Eugene’s hair. He starts to push Eugene down further before easing up.

“Eugene…fuck…”

Eugene pulls up a little to catch his breath, tongue flicking along the underside of Delsin’s cock as he does so. Delsin’s voice hitches and then he comes without much else of a warning all over Eugene’s face. Eugene shifts back to sit on his heels, replacing his mouth with his hand as he strokes Delsin through the aftershocks of his orgasm and contemplates how it feels to have Delsin’s come on him, his mark. It’s not as much of a turn on as he thought, and when he swipes a finger thought it to taste it, that just makes it worse.

Delsin gives a breathless laugh. “You don’t have to like it. I should’ve warned you.”

“Nah, it’s fine.” Eugene grabs Delsin’s shirt and wipes his face with it, laughing when Delsin tugs it away and tackles him back down onto the bed.

Delsin presses a kiss to his mouth before sitting back on Eugene’s thighs. “How do you want to come?”

“Just your hand,” Eugene says. “Lube this time though.”

"Alright, alright.”

Delsin grabs the lube off Eugene’s nightstand, slicking up his hand before grapping his cock. He starts in with a fast rhythm, punching Eugene’s breath out of him at the sudden rush of sensation and pleasure, only to be ripped away a second later when Delsin uses his other hand to reach up and give one of his nipples a harsh twist. Eugene hisses out a curse, back arching even after Delsin releases him. He’s surprised the pain actually makes it better, makes the touch on his cock seem all that more gentle and pleasurable instead of rough as it had been at first.

He comes with Delsin’s lips on his, chest still throbbing from Delsin’s earlier actions. All at once, all the energy drains out of him and he goes limp against the bed, panting. Delsin grabs his already ruined shirt and wipes up Eugene’s stomach before tossing it back on the floor and flopping down on the bed next to him.

“Question,” Delsin says as Eugene shifts to the end of the bed so he can drain data from the computer in a slow, steady stream to replenish his energy.

“Mmhm?”

“After your nightmares, you always drain infomercials, right? Because it bores the hell out of your brain and calms you down?” Delsin asks.

“Yes,” Eugene says, drawing the word out as he narrows his eyes in suspicion in Delsin’s direction.

“You never absorbed porn before?”

Eugene kicks Delsin’s shin. “No, why would I?”

“What 19-year-old wouldn’t?”

Eugene raises an eyebrow. “Delayed experience with puberty, remember?”

“Point taken. But you should totally do that some time. Could be fun.” Delsin waggles his eyebrows.

“Yeah, because I need so much can help getting it up,” Eugene says with an eye roll.

“Just saying, could be fun.”

Eugene cuts off the data stream and moves back up the bed, kneeling over Delsin and taking his lips in a slow, probing kiss. He waits until Delsin’s into it, pushing up against him, before pulling away.

“Maybe next time.”

 

-.-

 

Fetch and Delsin fuck for the first time with Eugene in the room. Fetch is the one that suggests it in between the Harry Potter movies Delsin decided they needed to marathon in honor of Fetch’s new TV (lifted, of course, from a higher up in some gang after she raided their house and got them all thrown in jail thanks to some carefully placed clues). She brings it up without warning, taking them both by surprise.

“Thought you weren’t interested in me?” Delsin says with a nervous smile.

“What gave you that idea?” Fetch asks.

“The part where you made me think you were going to kiss me and then punched me,” he says.

Eugene snorts. “We literally spend half our time talking about how attractive you are.”

“What?”

“Besides, I’d just met you,” Fetch says. “I’m classy. No kissing boys I’ve just met, not anymore anyways.”

"So wait, are you like, into me?”

“I didn’t say I was into you, I said I wanted to fuck you,” Fetch says. “It’s different.”

"So you want to…date Eugene and have sex with me?” Delsin asks.

Fetch tilts her head to the side as she considers his words. “Yeah, that’s a good way of putting it. You okay with that Eugene?”

Eugene glances between them. It’d be…not normal. But then, nothing they did was normal, and he loves Fetch, wants her to be happy and get what she wants. He kniws Delsin loves him. He isn’t really concerned about them getting together and leaving him in the dust either, because yeah he has some self-esteem issues but if there was one thing he’s confident about, it’s their faith in him.

“Yeah, sure,” Eugene says.

Which is how he ends up on one side of the bed watching Delsin pin Fetch’s hands to the mattress on either side of her head while he fucks her. Objectively, Fetch is very attractive, and watching pleasure flit across her face when Delsin gets a hand on her clit makes Eugene’s chest warm with affection. But like when they kissed, he’s not particularly turned on by it. He shifts a little, rolling closer. Delsin responds by moving back a bit, hands gripping Fetch’s hips and hauling her a little further into his lap but it brings her face closer to Eugene.

It’s easy then to shift enough to press a kiss to her lips. She smiles into it, her hand pushing through his hair before she has to break it to let out a higher pitched noise as Delsin shoves into her, shifting his hips to grind into her. Eugene rubs his thumb over her lip and then backs up again, stretching out on his back. Delsin looks down at him, gaze softening a bit. Eugene has the sudden urge to kiss him, so he does, pushing himself up and kissing Delsin deep and slow. The kiss steadies him a bit, makes him feel a bit more like he belongs, like he’s meant to be here.

Fetch tugs at him and he goes easily again, letting her kiss him as she comes, biting at his lips and gasping into his mouth as she does. He cradles her face in his hands as she shakes, legs kicking out from how sensitive she is as Delsin keeps fucking her, chasing his own climax down. Eugene pulls away when he hears Delsin’s breath hitch the way it always does before he comes, fitting his mouth over Delsin’s next. Delsin sighs into the kiss, tongue flicking over Eugene’s bottom lip before he pulls away.

When he eases out of Fetch, she gives a low groan, eyes sliding shut.

“Jeeze, I missed that,” she says, turning her face into Eugene’s knee. “Carry me to the shower someone.”

“Lazy,” Eugene says, but Delsin looks pretty down for the count as he always does post-orgasm so he climbs off the bed and hauls Fetch to her feet.

They make out together in the shower, slow kisses that help steady Eugene even further. As they’re drying off, Delsin comes in and gets a wash cloth wet to wipe himself down before tossing it in the tub and backing Eugene up against the wall before stealing a quick kiss and smiling down at him.

“You good?” Delsin asks

“Yeah. Not sure I want a repeat,” Eugene says, glancing between them. “I don’t know, it feels like I’m intruding a bit. I like that it makes you both happy, not sure I really want to be there though, you know?”

“Makes sense,” Fetch says. “So D, I know who to come to when I need a good fuck, yeah?”

“Was that a compliment?” Delsin asks.

Fetch whips him with the towel.

 

-.-

 

Eugene winces as the tattoo gun hums, breath hissing out between his teeth as Delsin’s fingers clench tightly around his. Fetch stands on the other side of the chair holding Delsin’s other hand and doing her best to get on her tiptoes to watch the tattoo artist, Mary, work on the finishing touches of the piece Delsin’s been getting done for the last few weeks. It’s a television set, an old school one with rabbit ears and everything. In the screen is an outline of the Seattle skyline done in a pink that matches Fetch’s neon powers perfectly. Eugene thought he was crazy for trying to get it done, especially given their healing factor, but as it turned out, the tattoos stuck.

“Jesus, mother, fuck!” Delsin yells when Mary pulls back, swiping a sterile cloth over his back as she stops the gun.

“You’re all done, you big baby,” she says. “You two, make sure he cleans it properly, watch for infection, make sure he actually comes back here or sees someone if it gets bad.”

“Yes ma’am,” Fetch says.

“Do I get a Conduit discount?” Delsin asks as Mary starts bandaging him up.

“Hell no,” she says. “But if you ever get a Twitter account, you should totally tweet a picture of it out for me. It’d be good business, tattooing the hero of Seattle and all.”

“You’re not going to tell anyone Fetch and I were here though, right?” Eugene asks, for the eighth time since they started working on Delsin’s tattoo.

She rolls her eyes. “No, I’m not. I want all the cool Conduits know they can come here and their secret is safe with me, you hear me? Now get out of my shop.” She smacks the skin below Delsin’s tattoo before getting up and collecting all the materials on her tray to dispose of.

Delsin gets out of the chair gingerly, wiggling his shoulders a bit as he does so.

“You’re such a baby,” Fetch says.

“You love me,” Delsin says, puckering his lips at her.

Fetch makes a disgusted noise and shoves him towards Eugene. “Kiss your boyfriend, not me.”

Delsin laughs and pulls Eugene in for a kiss.


End file.
